THE LEGEND OF THE LAST SOUTH CHINA TIGER: PART ONE

'Yin and Yang', black and neon orange Biro drawing by Jane Lee McCracken

‘Yin and Yang’, black and neon orange Biro drawing by Jane Lee McCracken

THE LEGEND OF THE LAST SOUTH CHINA TIGER

(Written especially for SAVE WILD TIGERS The Legend of the Last South China Tiger  accompanies a drawing diptych, of which the second drawing has been donated to Save Wild Tigers and will be exhibited alongside the work of 20 inspirational artists, curated by Lauren Baker, in ‘THRIVE’ Exhibition, Sanderson Hotel, London, 14th – 19th May and auctioned at the Mango Tree Tiger Dinner, 20th May)

 

Yin and Yang’, Drawing One

And so the legend of the last wild South China tiger begins …

Under the constellation of the White Tiger of the West, protected by the sacred Tigress Warriors of Yin, the last wild South China tiger cub, Amoy cowers behind the most powerful of the Tigress Warriors. Amoy can hear the reverberation of horses’ hooves coming closer. In the East under the constellation of the Azure Dragon, the warriors of Yang ride out in search of Amoy. Clouds of dust raised by the galloping cavalry form Goddesses of Love in the sky, anticipating his capture, for the Azure Dragon prizes the bones of the White Tiger’s children. Misguidedly he thinks tiger parts cure disease and heighten passion and has slain Amoy’s relatives one by one.   But the Tigress Warriors are brave and fearless and their swords are sharp. Amoy’s eyes widen with fear as the cavalry draws closer…

Part Two of the legend and the second drawing will be revealed soon…

There are less than 3500 tigers left in the wild and thought to be no South China Tigers surviving in the wild.  But the inspirational SAVE WILD TIGERS UK charity is working tirelessly to save the last remaining wild tigers.  Join them today and help save wild tigers!

20 limited edition archival pigment prints of the second donated drawing, made by Jack Lowe Studio will be available from 14th May with ALL profits donated to Save Wild Tigers.  ‘South China Tiger’ diptych will be released later this year as part of my fine China limited edition plate series “In Homage to the Last Great Carnivores of Eurasia” to celebrate the majesty of tigers and highlight their decline through wildlife crime.

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‘THRIVE’ an Inspirational Exhibition for SAVE WILD TIGERS!

 

'Shh, it's a Tiger!', luxury fine English china plate by Jane Lee McCracken

‘Shh, it’s a Tiger!’,  Siberian Tiger, ‘In Homage to the Last Great Carnivores of Eurasia’, luxury fine English china plate by Jane Lee McCracken made by THE NEW ENGLISH, Stoke-on-Trent

On 20th May 2014 Save Wild Tigers, an incredible organisation dedicated to saving the worlds last remaining wild tigers will be holding an auction dinner of tiger inspired artwork at the Mango Tree, London.  ‘THRIVE’, a unique and inspirational exhibition of this artwork, made by 20 artists will be shown from 14th – 19th May at the Sanderson Hotel, London.

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I feel exceptionally privileged that a new piece of work made specially for Save Wild Tigers will be exhibited in THRIVE alongside a group of amazing artists and their tiger artwork, curated by exceptional multimedia artist Lauren Baker.

When I was a wee girl tigers were already endangered.  In the mid 1970s after reading that the Caspian Tiger was thought to be extinct I wrote to a company whose advertising campaigns featured a tiger, to ask if they were helping save tigers.  It seemed logical to a child that if a company used an endangered animal in its advertising they must be donating some of their profit to conserve tigers.  I didn’t receive a reply.  By the time the company was donating towards tiger conservation in the 1990s, I was driving tube trains on the Northern Line and still hoping I could do something to help wild tigers.  After all how can we look ourselves in the mirror as a species if we don’t try to save one of the most beautiful and iconic animals on the planet.

Save Wild Tigers is a incredibly innovative organisation who work tirelessly to raise funds which “go directly to targeted and critical tiger conservation projects that make a real difference” including the Born Free Foundation and the Environmental Investigation Agency.  Save Wild Tigers actively encourage people to get involved in helping to save tigers – from artists and other creatives to tiny tigers of our younger generations.

'Shh, it's a Tiger!' and 'Bang!', Siberian tiger luxury fine china plate diptych by Jane Lee McCracken

‘Shh, it’s a Tiger!’ and ‘Bang!’, Siberian tiger “In Homage to the Last Great Carnivores of Eurasia” luxury fine china plate diptych by Jane Lee McCracken made by THE NEW ENGLISH, Stoke-on-Trent

Since pledging the second Biro drawing in a new diptych of South China Tigers for the next two plates in my ceramics series, I have written my own tiger legend especially for Save Wild Tigers.  The drawing will be revealed after the exhibition opening.  A luxury limited edition series of 20 archival pigment prints of the drawing made by master printmaker Jack Lowe Studio will be available to purchase with ALL profits donated to Save Wild Tigers.  Plates No.1 of ‘Shh, it’s a Tiger!’ and ‘Bang!’ will also be auctioned on the 20th of May.

Thank you Save Wild Tigers for all your hard work saving tigers and for including my work in your inspirational exhibition!

'Our Forefathers' and ''Our Loss', Amur Leopard 'In Homage to the Last Great Carnivores of Eurasia', luxury fine English china plate series by Jane Lee McCracken